Art students graduating from Florida Atlantic University have established careers as photographers, ceramicists, printmakers, painters, sculptors, and graphic designers. They have taught the fine arts and art history in colleges and universities, after advanced studies, as well as in grammar and secondary schools. They have been involved in Art in State Building projects and worked as museum directors and gallery personnel. They handle digital imaging for corporate clients, and many are involved in advertising and corporate design. For information regarding career possibilities, see the Major KnOWLedge website of the university: click here.

The undergraduate curriculum required for majors in Visual Arts and Art History allows a specialization in the areas of Ceramics, Graphic Design, Painting, Printmaking, Sculpture, Photography, or Art History.

Transfer students with AA degrees must have had Art History Survey I and II, Design, Drawing I, Figure Drawing, Three-Dimensional Design, Introduction to Digital Arts, and some studio experience prior to entering the program. If not transferring with an AA degree, these lower-division requirements may be satisfied at Florida Atlantic University.

Undergraduate Visual Arts and Art History majors may not take an art course under the pass/fail option, nor will a grade below “C” in an art course be counted toward fulfilling the requirements of the major.

Students begin their study in either the BA in Studio Art or BA in Art History degree program. Upon completion of the 5-6 core art courses, Studio Art students must submit to the Graphic Design or Studio Art portfolio review. Students who pass the portfolio review may choose to matriculate to the BFA in Graphic Design or BFA in Studio Art.

BACHELOR OF ARTS WITH MAJOR IN STUDIO ART

The BA in Studio Art is designed for a general education in the visual arts. Students are given rigorous training in the foundations of art, as well as in ways to explore new and innovative questions, theories and ideas that drive art today. Students are encouraged to create individualized programs of study anchored by any three areas of interest in the visual arts. Majors are expected to explore the variety and breadth of contemporary art practice in order to develop their own understanding of directions in visual art and their own artistic practice. Studio and seminar experiences are supplemented with field trips, visiting artist lectures, and critiques in order to help students begin to develop their own interests and projects as artists.

Students will choose three areas of interest from the following; Ceramics, Drawing, Graphic Design, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture

The Graphic Design Program provides students with the skills to pursue career opportunities in graphic design and visual communication. The overall goal of the program is to sharpen students’ abilities in visual problem solving and translating verbal concepts into visual images, image-making techniques, and graphic techniques that communicate intended messages, moods, and concepts. Graphic design projects include posters, brochures, corporate identity systems, trademarks, books, magazines, and advertisements of all kinds. Courses cover all facets of the visual communication process, from thumbnail sketches to printed pieces. Students are given assignments much like those they would encounter in professional settings. The program is planned to help students balance studies in art history and studio art with studies in graphic design and computer graphics. Through each course in the program, students are encouraged to develop an appreciation of the various philosophical and ideological positions that could affect their design perspectives.

The Studio Art Program offers diverse and challenging programs of study that emphasize the development of each student’s intellectual and artistic vision and goals. The program is dedicated to preparing practicing studio artists to participate in a dynamic art world. Students are given rigorous training in the foundations of art, as well as in ways to explore new and innovative questions, theories and ideas that drive art today. Majors are expected to explore the variety and breadth of contemporary art practice. These concentrated studio and seminar experiences are supplemented with field trips, visiting artist lectures, and critiques in order to help students begin to develop their own interests and projects as artists. At the advanced levels, students benefit from evaluation in individual and group critique sessions of their work, seminars, field trips, guest artists, lectures by curators and critics, and exhibition opportunities. These experiences prepare the studio major for advanced study and a career in art.

Students will choose one area of interest from the following; Ceramics, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture

The Art History Program requires courses in art appreciation, foundations drawing and design, an upper division studio art course, a course in aesthetics and art theory, a minimum of 28 credits in upper level art history, and a senior seminar in art history. Graduates in Art History have gone on from FAU to jobs at museums and galleries, and many have continued on to pursue graduate degrees. It is the belief of the faculty that a well-rounded preparation in Art History is also important to success in every branch of the visual arts, and to this end foreign study programs are offered in France, Italy, and Spain and departmental awards are available both to concentrators in the studio areas and to those in Art History.

The Department of Visual Arts and Art History offers a minor in Art History as well as in Studio Art in the following concentrations: Ceramics, Drawing, Graphic Design, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, and Sculpture. All courses must be completed with a “C” or better. Satisfactory / unsatisfactory or pass/fail grades will not be accepted. Art majors are not eligible for these minors. Interested students should contact the department for advising in the appropriate minor. A maximum of 2 courses (6 credit hours) can be applied to both a student's major and their studio art or art history minor.